WARNINGS: none for now
Note: All characters are aged up, since there will be mature themes in future parts.
Also, I can't promise I'll finish this. I suck at finishing stories.
Note 2: I haven't gotten to Idia's or Diasomnia's chapter yet, so please forgive me if the characters seem ooc.
Note 3: Of course Jade and Floyd get the most screen time.
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Today you had not one, not two, but three exhibits to cover. The aquarium, reptile exhibit, and the panther and albino tiger exhibit were all on your list today. You decided to cover them in that order.
The man who ran the aquarium gave you the three meals without a second glance, walking briskly through the door as soon as you had picked up the fish sandwiches. What a friendly guy.
You walked through the keeper's entrance, situated above the aquarium tank for easy access to the halflings inside. You looked down through the blue water and couldn't see any movement or signs of life at all.
"Um... hello! Meal time!" You called.
No response.
You kneeled at the side of the tank and splashed your fingers in the water a little, still calling out "meal time". Just as you were about to give up, a curious head popped out of the water.
It was one of the eel halflings- you could tell by the razor sharp teeth and the golden eye staring lazily up at you.
"Want a sandwich?" You asked, holding out a fish sandwich to the eel.
He nodded and held out a hand. You were fascinated by the webbed, clawed fingers that reached out to you. You must have stared too long because the eel let out a confused chirp, wondering why his sandwich was taking so long.
You handed his meal to him and watched as he dug in.
"What's your name?" You asked.
"Floyd! Floyd!" The eel yelled out his name excitedly, as though he had answered a million dollar question. You laughed.
"Nice to meet you, Floyd. I heard you have a brother?"
Floyd nodded and dove under the water. You cringed at the thought of soggy bread, but figured it probably didn't bother a sea creature.
Floyd resurfaced moments later, tearing at his sandwich with his sharp teeth. This time, however, he was not alone. Peeking above the water so only the top of his head and eyes could be seen, was a halfling that looked just like Floyd.
There were a few differences, such as the side his golden eye was on and the side his bangs parted, but the main difference was his expression. He had a different feel to him than Floyd. While Floyd's face was relaxed and playful, this one was wary and studied you intently in a way that made you feel bare.
"What's your name?" You asked. The eel did not answer, but Floyd was quick to supply the answer for him.
"Jaaaade," Floyd told you, a playful smile spreading across his face.
"It's nice to meet you, Jade," you said to the quiet eel halfling. He narrowed his eyes in response, studying you even more intently.
You held out a sandwich for him to take. There was a minute where he stared at the food, before a clawed hand gingerly plucked it from your hands. He disappeared under the water.
"There's one sandwich left... Oh, right! There's an octopus halfling in the tank too! Could you get him for me, Floyd?"
Floyd let out a chirp and tilted his head in confusion. You realized you had just dumped a ton of words on the poor halfling.
"Could you get the octopus?" You asked gently.
Floyd chirped again and dove under the water. He came back up looking very proud of himself as he dragged Jade to the surface by his arm.
"No, not Jade..." you tried not to let your frustration show, "The octopus."
Floyd stared at you uncomprehendingly.
Jade rolled his eyes, "She wants Azul." You were surprised by how easily he said the words, as though he were fluent in english. And maybe he was- only time would tell, you supposed.
"Azul!" Floyd gasped, diving under the water again.
This time, when he surfaced, it was alone. You were about to ask Jade to get the octopus halfling, when a handsome face broke the surface. You were surprised by how different from the twins he looked, with his white hair and blue eyes. He also regarded you with apprehension, as though you may hurt him.
"Hello there," you said softly, "I have a sandwich for you."
He approached you slowly, and you did your best to stay completely still so as not to scare him off. Finally, he reached out a slender hand and took the sandwich from you. With him as close as he was, you could see black tentacles through the water. He noticed you looking and blushed a light blue, before shooting under the water and disappearing from sight.
Was he embarrassed by his tentacles? You waved away the thought. Surely that was impossible.
"I have to go, guys, but I'll be back later," you promised. Jade's expression did not change, but Floyd dramatically threw himself against the side of the tank and said, "Awwwww..."
You giggled and waved goodbye, a little unnerved by how the twins' eyes followed you on your entire walk to the door.
Next, the reptile exhibit.
The keeper there was a bit more friendly. He handed you the burgers that were to be fed to the inhabitants and wished you a good day.
There were only two tanks in the heated building, which was modeled to look like a brown cave. You went for the tank on the right first, slipping through the keeper's door and surveying your surroundings. The giant boa constrictor in the middle of the enclosure turned to face you, and you were surprised by the friendly face you were met with.
The boa constrictor was human from the waist-up and snake from the waist-down. He had ruby eyes that sparkled with interest as he approached you quickly. He smiled widely, almost innocently, and revealed the long, hollow snake fangs in his mouth- a stark contrast from his friendly demeanor.
"Who are you?" The boa constrictor asked.
"I'm (Y/n), and you are?"
"Kalim!" The boa constrictor answered with a closed-eyed smile. He regarded the burgers curiously, "Rat burgers?"
"Oh, is that what's in them?" You asked, feeling a little green at the thought of eating one of those. You held one out to Kalim and he took it with another big smile.
"Jamil! Wake up!" He stuck his hand into a fake bush and pulled on another snake's tail. To your horror, the viper you had seen a few days ago came slithering out, seething silently.
Great. An angry, venomous viper. I'm going to die. You shook the negative thoughts from your head and held out a burger, desperately praying he wasn't going to strike and poison you.
His eyes softened and he took the burger from you gently.
"Thank you. Did you say 'thank you', Kalim?" Like a few of the other halflings, Jamil was surprisingly fluent, although he struggled over some of the words.
Kalim's eyes widened, "Oh! Thank you, (Y/n)!"
You laughed at his enthusiasm, "No problem, you two."
As you waved goodbye, Kalim's tail wrapped around your ankle. Surprised, you said, "I'll be back later." Reluctantly, Kalim withdrew his tail.
You headed to the other cage. As you approached, something bright blue skittered under a large bush. Curious, you entered through the keeper's door.
"I've got a burger for you," you called out.
"Ugh..." a dreary voice reached your ears, "A burger again? That's snake food. Do they even know how to take care of a lizard?"
You poked your head around a particularly large bush and spotted the inhabitant of the tank you were in. He had pale skin with electric blue hair, scales, and tail, curled up in the corner, glaring at you.
"I'm sorry, that's all I have for you today," you apologized. The lizard appeared to be another halfling that was fluent in English. You were surprised by how many there were.
"You are new," the lizard stated.
"Yes, I'm (Y/n). I'm a researcher," you explained.
The lizard nodded, "I'll eat the burger."
You handed it to him, "Thank you, I'm sorry you don't like burgers. What's your name?"
He was quiet for a few moments, before replying, "Idia."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Idia," you said. You gave him a wave goodbye and he looked surprised.
"You're leaving already?" He asked.
"I'll be back soon!" You promised.
Idia nodded, then curled back up, "I like being alone anyways."
You waved goodbye again, but it was not returned. You headed out of his exhibit and out of the reptile house. The next place to go was the panther and white tiger exhibit.
The fresh air hit your face as you traveled to the next exhibit. You felt the same nervousness as when you went into the lion and hyena area- the fear of predators much stronger than you. The meals were left on a table for you to take (more burgers), but no zookeeper was in sight. Some of the keepers here really were not friendly...
As soon as you opened the door, you were met with both of the albino tigers. You stiffened as one of them turned to you with a stern expression. The other tiger, you noted, was fast asleep.
"You are not the keeper!" The awake tiger yelled, "Trespasser! Trespasser!"
"No, no! I'm filling in for today," you soothed, "See, I have your burgers."
That seemed to satisfy him, because he sat down with a thump, tail twitching.
"What's your name?" You asked, handing him a burger.
"Sebek," he said importantly, sitting up proudly.
You turned to the sleeping tiger and gently called out, "Hey, can you wake up for a second? I have your dinner."
The tiger did not stir. Sebek leaned over and gave him a nudge. The tiger startled awake, blinking blearily around.
At first, you were a little nervous. What if this tiger would be angry that you disturbed his sleep?
However, the tiger showed no signs of hostility, calmly approaching you and taking a burger.
"He's Silver," Sebek introduced him. The sleepy tiger, Silver, nodded absently as he began to eat.
"Nice to meet you both!" You said enthusiastically. They did not return the enthusiasm.
You took the other two burgers and walked through the underbrush, leaving the pair to their meal. You wondered where the panthers were.
"Hello," a pleasant voice said.
You looked around but could not find the owner of the voice. "Up here," he said.
You looked up and were shocked to see a panther halfling hanging upside down on a tree branch.
"How...?" You asked, stunned.
He let out a soft laugh and let himself fall to the ground, twisting in midair to land on his feet. He held out his hand, "I take other burger to Malleus."
"Oh, I was looking forward to meeting everyone..." You said uncertainly.
Lilia looked surprised, "Researcher?"
"Yes, I'm a researcher."
Lilia smiled, "Follow."
You followed him as he walked through the forest. Before long, you both had ended up in a clearing. A tall panther halfling lounged on a rock, his eyes lighting up with curiosity as you approached.
"I brought you a burger," you said cheerfully, holding out said burger.
The halfling stood up and it was only then that you noticed the horns jutting out of his head behind his ears. Suddenly, you realized why the black-and-pink haired panther had tried to spare you a meeting with him.
Halflings with horns, other than goat and ram halflings, were known to be able to produce magic. Strong magic.
A thrill of fear ran through you, but you held your ground. He didn't seem to be hostile, so you wouldn't show your hesitation.
"Thank you," he said, voice smooth and rumbling.
You nodded, eyes fixated on his oddly-shaped black horns. The other panther took a bite of his burger and, as if he were copying him, Malleus quickly took his burger from your hand and dug in.
"I'll be back soon, it was nice to meet you both," you said gently, giving them a wave. It was only after you had closed the exhibit door that you realized you hadn't gotten the pink-and-black haired panther's name.
You pulled out your notebook. You'd get everyone's names downpat soon enough. It was time to begin your observations.